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Magazine

The Badlands Of El Salvador

Since the mid 90's El Salvador has experienced crime figures unrivaled by few other nations.
Gangs are common place ever since the US started deporting illegal immigrants from El Salvador who had started and joined gangs in the USA.
Once back home the gangs simply continued their crimes and feuds, which even extended across the borders with Honduras and Guatemala.
In 2012 El Salvador has a murder rate of 66 deaths per 100.000 inhabitants. Triple the rate of Mexico, which is experiencing a cartel war.
The government has tried to stem the flow of blood with a gang truce project and it even succeeded in having a murder free day for the first time in three years on April 14 2012.
Since then, however, the truce has been broken and crime rose 56% in 2014.

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A police investigator works at a crime scene where five suspected gang members were killed in the town of Chalchuapa STRINGER/EL SALVADOR/REUTERS